About the GI Film Festival

Creating Community

GIFF transcends the world of film festivals by creating a true community where passionate filmmakers, our veterans and those who support them can gather for a few magical days to educate, heal and preserve the legacies of our veterans.

Every city in America should experience what you have built. Gary Mortensen, Director, Shepherds of Helmand The GI Film Festival (GIFF), a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Army veteran Laura Law-Millett and her husband Brandon Millett, is dedicated to preserving the stories of American veterans past and present through film, television and live special events.

Additional Events

GIFF’s flagship festival, held each May in Washington, DC is now entering its 11th season. GIFF also hosts an annual west coast festival each October in San Diego in partnership with KPBS.

GIFF has also produced a live event military base tour, a National Cinematic Salute to the Troops showcased in 400 theater across the country and Best of GIFF television series on The American Heroes Channel and The Pentagon Channel.

Our Mission

In addition to providing a top-flight entertainment experience, GIFF’s non-profit mission is to connect service-members to society.

This mission serves three main purposes. First, GIFF ensures that the stories of our military veterans and their families – their triumphs and sacrifices on the battlefield and their struggles on the home-front — are preserved for future generations.

Second, GIFF bridges the gap between the military and civilian populations, fostering mutual understanding and respect. This is an especially important component of GIFF’s mission given that less than 1% of the American population currently serves in the U.S. Armed Forces.

And, finally, GIFF provides healing for our military veterans who are exposed to the catharsis of the film-watching experience during GIFF events throughout the year.

Serving Our Veterans

By Sharing Their Stories

GIFF, a 501c3 non-profit organization described as Sundance for the Troops, preserves the stories of veterans through film, television and events.

GI Film Festival events provide an exceptionally diverse line-up of programming, covering all branches of service, every major conflict, and every major film genre while addressing a variety of issues of concern to the veteran community, including post-traumatic stress, homelessness, and unemployment.

Join Us

As the nation struggles to deal with the alarmingly high rate of veteran suicide and post-traumatic stress, film therapy is widely viewed as an effective and novel means of addressing the problem.

To help GIFF preserve the stories of our military veterans, please consider joining GIFF as a sponsor, a donor, or a volunteer.

Meet The Team

Laura Law-Millett

Co-Founder & Director

Laura Law-Millett is a successful entrepreneur and the Chief Operations Officer at the GI Film Group, a full service entertainment company located in Alexandria, Virginia.

Laura is also the co-founder of the GI Film Festival, a non-profit organization and the nation’s only military film festival. The mission of the festival is to preserve the stories of our men and women in uniform through film and television.

Films screened by the GI Film Festival have gone on to win Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, and air on Showtime, HBO, PBS, and the Military Channel as well as gain DVD and theatrical distribution deals.

Laura has also served the nation for over 18 years as an Army Officer in the US Army and US Army Reserves serving in Korea, Turkey, Bosnia, Germany, Colorado, Maryland, DC, and Virginia where she earned many distinguished awards. From 2006-2008 Laura was selected to be the subject of a national recruitment media campaign for the US Army reserve.

Laura also has a history of volunteering with multiple organizations including Girls State and Junior Achievement. She served on former Congressman Tom Davis’ staff in Virginia to help nominate candidates for the military academies. She also created and teaches a leadership class for at-risk high school girls. Laura’s organization Not Too Young to Care brings awareness to ending sex trafficking. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering and English Literature from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Film and TV credits include executive producing a series on the Discovery Military Channel, executive producing a feature documentary that aired on AXS TV and producing a series for The Pentagon Channel.

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Brandon Millett

Co-Founder & President

Brandon Millett is an award-winning communicator, writer, producer and media entrepreneur. Millett is currently CEO of the GI Film Group, which supports military-themed film and television projects and Co-Founder and President of the GI Film Festival, a national non-profit organization dedicated to tell the stories of American veterans.

In recognition for his work, Millett was recently named one of the “100 Most Influential” military supporters in the coutry by HillVets (2016). He is the co-recipient of the American Legion National Commander’s Public Relations Award previously presented to the late Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw, Lou Dobbs and the late Jack Valenti, among other distinguished recipients. Other honors include the Carlton Sherwood Media Award and the George Washington Freedom Medal.

Millett is the Executive Producer of weekly television shows which aired on The Pentagon Channel (TPC) and Discovery’s American Heroes Channel (then The Military Channel). He also wrote, produced and co-directed the National Cinematic Salute to the Troops, a two-hour variety show distributed to 400 theaters across the country in 2016.

As a communications and media professional, Millett has advised a variety of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit start-ups. Millett’s media campaigns have earned coverage from virtually every major news outlet worldwide.

As a spokesperson Millett conducted hundreds of interviews on national radio and television programs from Dennis Miller to NPR’s “To the Point” to “Fox and Friends,” while his written work has appeared in numerous national and international publications. Millett previously served as Director of Communications for the nation’s largest government watchdog organization and for a national organization which trains young people for success in media and politics.

Millett holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Psychology with a concentration in Political Psychology.